Psyduck
by wolf fullmoon
Summary: A look into Psyduck's head as he thinks about his master and his position in life


**-Psyduck-**

Psyduck sat and watched his master running around the gym cleaning the pool floor and getting the food for everyone. He wanted to try and help her out but he knew it'd probably only make her angry with him again. The last time he tried to help her clean he'd slipped along the floor and fell into the pool.

The duck Pokemon shivered just thinking about it. His master was always trying to get him to swim. But he couldn't help it. He didn't like having his head in the water. When he had something to float on he was fine since his face got nowhere near it but...

The sensation of being submerged in the water. Nothing solid to grip on. Even just dipping his feet in and feeling that absence of anything to stand on made his heart race and it terrified him beyond all else.

Sometimes Psyduck wished he could swim. That he wouldn't be such a disappointment to his master. He really wanted to please her. To make her proud of him in the way that the others seemed to do with ease. He watched his master petting Corsola and congratulating her on winning a tough battle.

He wanted that too. To be praised. To be loved.

It's why he always came out of his Pokeball whenever she battled. He wanted to show her that he could make her proud. He wanted her to smile at him the way she did to the others. But all he ever did was make her angry. He failed over and over again. He would flinch whenever she yelled at him, though to the outside world it probably looked like he was just spacing out. Every time she would hit him or hurt him he'd freeze up...but at the same time he liked it.

At least when she was angry with him, she wouldn't be ignoring him.

Sometimes...when he would get an especially bad headache he'd black out. He wouldn't remember much of what happened, only that his master would be smiling and hugging him afterward. He cherished those moments. Why couldn't this be a normal thing? To always have her look at him straight in the eyes without a hint of frustration.

He knew that she did love him. She was a kind hearted master and she loved all of them. Though he knew this he couldn't help but doubt sometimes. Whenever he'd messed up especially bad or embarrassed her in some way.

The problem was that although he'd pop out of his Pokeball to try and help...he was a coward. He didn't like getting hurt. He didn't like battles but he...he just wanted to remind his master that he was there. To make sure she wouldn't forget him...

...like his old master had.

Psyduck didn't like thinking about his old master as it made the pain in his head nearly unbearable but sometimes...when he was alone and just had time to really think, he'd remember.

His old master never hit him. But she wasn't loving either. When he'd first came to her he'd been very young. She had smiled at him and he'd smiled back.

Then one day she pushed his face into the water and didn't let go.

He never found out why and she never did it again after that first time but it'd left a mark on him. He didn't like the water after that. He wondered even now what her reasons for doing so were but there was no way to know anymore.

She'd trained him and her other Pokemon but he was clumsy, even back then. She'd frown at him and tell him to sit out the training.

He hadn't minded at first but as time went on his master would call on him less and less. Sometimes she'd forget to feed him. Sometimes he'd be left in his Pokeball for days on end. He learned how to break out of the ball whenever during those days.

He tried going into battles more but each failure only served to make his master ignore him more. After one incredibly terrible defeat and a quick rush to the Pokemon Center he'd woken up to find that his master wasn't there.

He waited a few days there, waiting for her to come back and pick him up. Perhaps she was too busy? Perhaps she was injured and couldn't come?

Perhaps she'd forgotten...

After two weeks went by he'd left the Center to go look for her on his own. It was hard being on his own and he'd soon gotten horribly lost and eventually collapsed on the outskirts of a city. He'd woken in yet another Pokemon Center and the nurse there was kind enough to let him stay as long as he wanted.

It was there he stayed until a group of humans came and took him with them. As they argued over who would take him he took the chance as it came and had himself captured.

"Hey Psyduck. Lunchtime! Here you go." A sweet voice broke him out of his musings.

Turning he saw his master smiling kindly and offering him a bowl of food.

"Duck" He said as he took the bowl from her and dug in hungrily.

She patted his head before getting up to go check on the other Pokemon. Psyduck watched her leave and for a moment his headache spiked before subsiding.

It wasn't perfect. He was still a clumsy fool who disappointed everyone around him. He was still beaten when he failed. He was still overshadowed by the others...

But he couldn't be happier

**-End-**


End file.
